Raven
' ' Raven ( username "[ R ]" ) is a shadow-wielding villain from Rosso's Place. Currently not very established, Raven has yet to actually commit a wide-spread, evil deed, although he has pulled numerous small-time jobs unnoticed. Currently lacking an arch nemesis, and has no real ties to any other metahumans, besides showing a love interest in Nixi Tani. He stars in his own, non-canonical comic ( written and ilustrated by his player ) called Raven: Villain Chronicles . Basic Information Name Raven Ominae Runner; goes simply by the name of "Raven", prefers not to release full name. Age 597 years old; has the appearance of a man, or humanoid, in his early twenties. Race The supervillain Raven has no set race; he is a unique creature thanks to the manner in which he was created. Made from a Demon's gathering, and possession, of an abundance of creatures, including a number of arachnids, crustaceans, and a living human being. While his origin is simply that of a Demon born of Shadow, he has fused himself into a permanent, "mortal" body on the physical plane, out of a greedy personal interest. Body Traits Raven's general appearance is that of a human with bright, red skin, short, and ruffled black hair with two thin sideburns. He stands at about 5'11", weighing in at about 178 lbs. His eyes change color based on emotion; while normally orange and unseen behind his wide, black shades, they become a vibrant red when his emotions get the better of him ( regardless of the emotion ). His body seems mostly "normal", besides the red flesh tone, but his arms and his hands are most often that of a crustacean, or some claw-handed beast ( lobster, crab, scorpion, this is up to the discretion of whoever views the claws ). He likes wearing a lot of leather, including large, heavy boots, but usually keeps his outfits very.. Slim. Personality Raven is multi-faceted, almost to the point of having multiple personalities.. The only discerning factor being that he doesn't suddenly slip into each trait, but strings them together in one, megalomaniacal personality all his own. The truth is that, without all his power and the position it offers, Raven might have just turned out to be some comedic stooge, only good for clever stand-up from time to time. It's hard for Raven to see things in the "big picture".. He lives for the here, the now, and strives only to make the most out of the day, to dance on the edge of life's blade. At the same time, this brings together his most noteworthy wisdom; the ability to think on his feet. Not so great at planning, but somehow able to calculate with deadly precision as he goes, he becomes a formidable opponent, working whole strategies together in instances. The red villain lives for excitement. If a plan looks dull, or that it will bear no fruit, Raven would prefer to stray away from it. He prefers something that will insist excitement upon him, something to drive his adrenaline to the maximum.. For lack of a better term, "something manly". But then, take into consideration things that Raven finds exciting; not just fighting, or battles, but speed, intricate infiltration, horror, suspense, and.. Carnal desires, of a sort. It always, simply, depends on his mood. Just hope that you catch him in a good one. He also likes meat, hard music, and very forward flirting. Alter Ego; "Prosecutor Drake" Unfortunately, Raven can't always just walk around, being big and bad and red. So he needed a human form. Fortunately, when the Demon that he originally was came into this world, in possessing a mass of creatures, he had possessed one human body to make his new form "humanoid". The human he possessed was a one Prosecutor Daniel Drake, a young man who had recently finished law school a year prior, and was making his name up as a Prosecutor in the big city. Now, inside Raven's body, Prosecutor Drake may only be called upon as Raven himself, transforming into the young man's completely human body whenever the need arises. Raven even uses this to his advantage, making things interesting for all of his hero-based enemies by controlling Drake and forcing him to prosecute the heroes for collateral damage, assault and battery, intent to kill, etc; pretty much any charge that Drake can pull out of his briefcase. As it stands, nobody knows that Prosecutor Drake is actually Raven in disguise. He manages this by allowing Drake to have his own personality, thoughts, and willpower.. Basically, mooting any actual mindreading powers or chances of slipping up and releasing Raven's identity. However, Raven can still instill subtle hints to Drake's psyche, urging him to do as the villain wishes, and can force Drake to change back at any time. Past For all of Raven's history before ''he became the red, shadow-wielding demon he is today, you can find his entire Gaian roleplay history on his Gaia Profile page. The Transformation After the neverending Incubus Lord of all Nitemares, Raven, was locked away in a cell inside his own castle, he managed to sneak into the dungeon ( conning one of the guards to bring it in from his old room ) an ancient Tome of unimaginable dark power. Unable to use the Tome to physically break free from the dungeon, thanks to magical bindings, the Incubus instead opted to use the dark and powerful book to break his body apart, and escape through the walls as his own spirit. This left the Tome behind in his cell, along with the charred remains of his old body, hidden away from prying eyes who might have used it later to track him down. To this day, the Tome has yet to be discovered. Upon escaping the dungeon and making it out of the bowels of Hell, Raven's spirit used the magic that was embued into it from the Tome to gather together, absorb and posess the bodies of several different creatures, including one human body ( in order for him to take a humanoid form, and not just the form of a horrible beast ).. Thus giving him the red, crustaceous body he seems to have today. The dark power from the Tome that gave him this form also seemed to bring out the exaggerated, righteous attitude of the original Incubus Lord, giving this ''new Raven a strong-willed, powerful personality. However, he still kept the evil tendencies of Venom's side of his spirit, and so instead of using his powers for good, the new lord of Darkness became a super villain. Current Events Despite his villainous tendencies and continuous robberies / small-time crimes, Raven has been able to hide all of this from, and effectively mate with, the heroine and lamia queen, Nixi Tani. He now lives with the beast queen in their personal Temple, and is deeply in love with said mate.. Although, he has to keep his evil personality a secret, because of their opposing occupations. After a long wait for Nixi to go back into heat, the Lord of Darkness and the Queen of Lamias have managed to consummate their union, and Nixi is pregnant with a clutch of her and Raven's children. Abilities Inhuman Abilities Raven would be up a creek without a paddle if his shadows were all that he had to fight with. Thankfully, his body comes equipped with a few natural abilities that put him up to par with the 'supers' in the world, and allow him some elbow room when it comes to his fellow metahumans. They come in relative comparison to those of the creatures he's absorbed, multiplied by his size. Inhuman abilities include: *'Super Strength' ; We'll measure Raven's 'super strength' in a measurement called 'Buses'. For instance, Raven can normally lift one whole Bus. However, if his adrenaline is 'Hyper', he can go as far as to lift two whole Buses. And if his adrenaline is 'Depleted', he can only lift about a half of a Bus. Needless to say, this comes in handy when punching faces in. Does not include fat passengers. *'Super Speed' ; Raven's average running speed is set at 35 MPH. However, if his adrenaline is 'Hyper', he can go as far as 45 MPH. If his adrenaline is 'Depleted', he can only run about 20 MPH. He prefers not to run excessively, however, and in turn uses his motorcycle ( Vice Red ) when he needs to get to places, fast. *'Flexibility' ; While not exactly 'inhuman', Raven does sport an incredible flexibility for his toned form, generally able to bend backwards and twist at a moment's notice, if say, he needed to dodge an attack. Regardless of adrenaline, Raven is able to do perfect splits, and bend far enough backwards to touch his feet to the back of his own head. Some of these inhuman abilities are affected by his level of Adrenaline, which is split into three levels: Hyper, Average, and Depleted. Raven can only achieve a 'Hyper' level of adrenaline if he's listening to any sort of Upbeat music, or is feeling a sudden, emotional surge. He can only be brought down to a 'Depleted' level of adrenaline if he's listening to something very Downbeat, or is experiencing extensive blood loss. Abilities are, naturally, set to the 'Average' scale if they are neither 'Hyper' nor 'Depleted'. Claws One of his most noticable features on Raven are probably his claws. He knows it's the first thing people see when they look at him, because more often than not, it's the first thing they think of when they call him a name.. But~, they're no laughing matter. The truth is that the exoskeleton on each of Raven's thick, red claws, including the arms as far as the shoulder, are as hard as steel, and each weigh in at about 75 lbs. The weight and power of just the claws' exteriors lead Raven into using them in hand-to-hand combat often, generally opting out of the use of weapons. Why would he? He has two weapons at the ends of his arms already. The muscles inside of the actual claws themselves are hinged together so tightly that, if snapped down as hard as possible, they could crush a diamond. When Raven was first getting used to his body, this was a constant problem; always breaking and ripping things apart, killing people and creatures when he actually didn't want to, just bumbling and leaving a mess behind him wherever he went, whatever he touched. Eventually, though, he trained himself to control it. Now, he can still will himself crush diamond and rip human bodies asunder, but he can hold onto any object without crushing it, and stroke or caress without causing tears or rips. Tail Raven's tail has two forms, both of which he can change into in an instant, and extend as far as he wishes. The first form is one of a very thin, black tail with red, prickly thorns scattered all about the length of it's surface for means of protection. The tip of this tail is a rather plump, black pseudo-heart. While this tail is not large or very threatening, it is particularly useful for quick, whipping attacks and bleeding Raven's enemies with it's thorns. The second form of the tail is a much, much larger version, which sports a similarity to a Scorpion's tail. The length is very thick, and is made up of seperate, ball-like sections, coated in a smooth exoskeleton. The size of the tail makes it a good weapon for bludgeoning, or brute force attacks. The tip of the tail, however, is the point of interest; the stinger, when injected into an opponent's body, instantaneously shoots off a toxin of Raven's choice into the body / bloodstream. This toxin can have a number of effects, depending on what Raven has stored into the stinger prior to attack. The toxins can generally be differentiated by color, including: *'Violet Toxin' ; Shortly after injection, this toxin causes the recipient's body to respond more erratically to pheromones, and actually concentrates a collective pheromone into the recipient's bloodstream. Their mind becomes blurry, one-tracked even, and every touch becomes a heightened experience, some hint of sexual bliss. To put it bluntly, this toxin is an incredible aphrodisiac in it's own right, and can turn innocence into greedy sex-mongering. *'Red Toxin' ; This toxin settles into the body moments after injection, and heats up at incredible rates when in contact with blood. Burning sensations tear through the recipient's entire body, resulting in a horriffic stinging, scorching pain. The pain lasts for up to a day and, if left untreated by the Antidote, will result in internal burning of multiple degrees, causing permanent damage to the internal organs, veins and flesh.. Assuming that the recipient isn't already dead within the hour. *'Green Toxin' ; A classical poison concentrated, this concoction causes immediate sickness in the recipient.. Blurring their vision, causing pounding migraines to ripple all the way from the core of their brain to the very tip of the stem, raising a fever, inducing vomiting, and illiciting a radical pain through every muscle of their body. Recipients are generally bedridden for a week, regardless of immune system, and will die at the end of the week if the proper antidote is not applied. *'Orange Toxin' ; A toxin that, once injected, dissipates into an intangible vapor inside the body, coercing it's way to the brain, where it interacts with the amygdala and intoxicates the "fear circuit" within the mind, causing wild hallucinations, or simply rising fear in the mind out of any little motion or thing. A thing of beauty, this toxin is unsusceptible even to the recipient's willpower, due to the nature of it's direct interaction with the brain itself. *'Blue Toxin' ; A simple toxin that drains the motor skills of the recipient, leaving them unable to will any part of their body to move. However, the body itself still carries out the actions necessary for survival, such as breathing, heart beating, etc. Also causes hypersalivation, a difficulty in swallowing, and a sensitivity to light. Toxin generally lasts in the system for a full 6 hours. Acts as the Antidote for the Red and Green Toxins, wherein the 6-hour 'stun' is a side-effect. The scorpion tail can also excrete a simple, slick fluid that is slippery enough to keep others from grabbing onto the tail. If the exterior fluid is taken into the mouth ( ex. if someone is biting onto the tail when the fluid is excreted ), it can cause a sudden, dizzying fever that lasts for up to an hour. Arachnid Legs Although not seen often, except in extreme cases when Raven wishes to instill fear on his victims, he can extend a full set of eight, spidery legs from just off of his spine. These legs are capable of movement, in any case where Raven's legs might be unusable. Every inch of the thin, black legs are covered in small, sensory 'hairs' that heighten his sense of touch, and feeling. Two legs, wrapped around or pressing toward each other, are capable of lifting one human of average or lesser weight; however, the legs themselves are not made of a tough exoskeleton like Raven's tail or claws, and so they can break off rather easily if enough force is applied. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes for the arachnid leg to regenerate itself if broken, and new legs become extremely sensitive to any touch, including something as light as a little brush from the wind, for an hour after their regeneration. Shadows Consistency and Light The first thing you might wonder, after seeing Raven manipulate the shadows into other things such as tendrils or shields, is "Hey, how is he moving a shadow into an area where light is being cast and a shadow normally can't survive?" .. This is a common problem with most shadow-using metahumans, in that they believe a shadow has to consistently follow the rules of being bound by light, but then think that they can move shadows into light without harm. The truth is that, once Raven has a shadow to work with, he can solidify that shadow and manipulate it's consistency. If there is no shadow in an area before he manipulates it, he cannot use that shadow.. But if he were to solidify and manipulate the consistency of the shadow before someone were to cast light onto it, it would still be able to survive the light. There are still effects of light on the shadows under the control of his power, however, even after he has manipulated consistency. The strength and defensive capabilities of his shadows can be weakened, depending on the light cast onto them in the area around. For instance; in a completely pitch-black room, Raven's shadows would have the strength to lift, and throw, an entire bus, and would have the defensive consistency of diamond, if used as a shield. In a dimly-lit room, they would be able to throw about a half of a bus, and have the defensive consistency of steel, if used as a shield. In a brightly-lit room, they would be able to lift, and throw, a very large man, and have the defensive consistency of cement. If the blazing sun were right ontop of them, they would probably dissipate as soon as they were touched, and would break like limbs. This is not to say, however, that light can effectively weaken all of his shadows' powers. For example, light has no effect on the portal uses of a shadow. No matter how strong the light in the room is, as long as Raven has a shadow readily being manipulated to use as a portal, the light is unable to stop him from using the portal. Placement and DNA Tracking There are two limits to where Raven can manipulate his shadows: They have to be places he can see or places he can comprehend visually ( ex. he can see the shadow behind or below him, but doesn't have to actually look at it; he can comprehend the shadows inside a box that is near him, and manipulate them from the outside ). This also works in the way that he can manipulate shadows in places he has been, or has seen at least, because he can openly comprehend them. Otherwise, he would not be able to use the portals to escape to other places ( ex. he opens a portal in front of him, and simultaneously opens the other portal in a building that he's been to before, miles away ). He can even use this method to attack people with shadows, if he's not there.. Although it is much harder, because he is not in the room to see them. Thus, this method is preferred in small areas, with wide-spread attacks. Another unique method in which Raven uses his shadows is to track his enemies, friends, and acquaintences through their DNA. He only needs something simple; a strand of hair, a particle of skin, a drop of blood. As long as it holds a hint of their DNA, and he absorbs it through the shadows, he can instantaneously track down the person that the DNA belongs to, and open portals near them. This works wonders against enemies who are attempting to escape, though the clear flaw is that the trick does not work on creatures who lack DNA. This instance is rare, except with purely mechanical beings. Portal-Based Uses Raven's shadows have two basic portal forms: One form is an actual "gateway" portal, which is able to transport any matter that can fit into the portal out of another portal that the matter can also fit out of. This means that, if Raven has a shadow at-the-ready to take a hit like, say, a bullet.. The attack would be absorbed by the shadow, and could re-appear from another shadow of Raven's choosing. These gateway portals are directly connected to each other, and at Raven's total control.. Meaning that he could make whatever went into the portal ( ex. bullet ) come out of the other portal in that exact, split second. Or, he could actually delay the action, and keep it in waiting until a better time.. At which point, he could release whatever went into the first portal, and eject it from the second portal, at the exact speed and power that it entered the first. So, the bullet would stay in the shadow's limbo, until Raven released it out of another shadow, and it would shoot out in the way that the bullet entered; at high speeds. This is also consistent with things like temperature, or time, in that if a grenade or a fireball entered the portal, and Raven held it within the shadow's limbo, it could come out an hour later without having exploded, or the fireball could come out an hour later at the exact same heat. The second form of portal used by Raven is a "pocket dimension" portal, which leads to a small, shadow-filled dimension of Raven's own creation. In this small pocket dimension, Raven can pull out objects that have been stored inside prior, or he can hide inside of the portal to escape harm. This "pocket dimension" is seperate to his gateway portals, in that it does not retain consistency in power, speed, temperature, or time when it captures an item, meaning that if a grenade or fireball were thrown into this portal, it would lose heat or explode in the usual amount of time. Raven tries to avoid this, however, if he has items of interest inside his pocket dimension, since these sorts of attack would cause those items harm. Thus, for absorbing attacks from enemies, he prefers the use of gateway portals. The "pocket dimension" does not start at the point of entry; rather, the shadow used to enter the pocket dimension can be cut off, at any time, by Raven, and be used for another purpose, ex. transporting someone who follows Raven to another place entirely. The pocket dimension, itself, is a dimension created entirely by Raven, and as such, is completely under his control. He can control how much oxygen is provided by the dimension, it's consistency, where the dimension is stored, etc. The only things that cannot change are the size of the dimension, which is about the size of an average bedroom ( able to hold many of Raven's weapons / valuables, and also two people ), and the light provided by the dimension, which is consistently pitch black. Due to the friction of entering another, seperate dimension, however, larger objects take a lot more time to be absorbed by the portal; any person that isn't Raven, himself, would take roughly 1 minute and 30 seconds to absorb, or 3 minutes, varying depending on the size of the person. Generally, enough time for them to escape, which is why Raven prefers to use this as a finishing move when the opponent is already incredibly weak, or asleep. Limbs and Weapons One of the more obvious uses for Raven's shadows is to use them as weapons, or even to create seperate limbs. For example, one of Raven's favorite uses for solidifying his shadows is to create tendrils ( yes, otherwise known as tentacles ) from them. Much to disbelief, this isn't out of sexual gain ( although it can be used that way ), but for multi-purpose use, such as being able to grab, push, and use objects that are otherwise not under Raven's control. He has used these for everything from pouring himself a drink, to flipping light switches, or restraining his opponents / helpless passer-by's. The ends of these tendrils can continue to be manipulated into other shapes, such as blades, hands, lassos, wrecking balls.. Etc. On the note of weapons, Raven can also create weapons from the shadows. As long as some strand of the original shadow is connected to the weapon, it is able to survive and be used by Raven. Generally, these strands are simply strung from the shadow, up Raven's leg, his torso, and along his arm, so he can hold said weapon in his claws. Preferred weapons are swords, knives, mallets, hammers, maces, spears, and pretty much any melee weapon Raven can think of. He cannot use long-range weapons with his shadows, such as guns or bows/arrows, because that would mean that the shadow bullets or arrows would disconnect from the origin shadow, and dissipate before reaching their target ( unless point-blank ). He can, however, create long-range weapons out of shadows if he already has solid ammo that he can put inside / alongside them. If the weapons were to be broken, or the limbs / tendrils were to be cut off or seperated in some way that kept them from being connected to their shadow point of origin, they would simply dissipate in mid-air, and if Raven wished, grow back. The shadow itself is constant, and the very epicenter of the original shadow is what drives it; even if the solid mass of shadow on the floor or wall were cut into 10 different pieces, the 9 outer-most pieces would simply disappear, and the entire shadow would grow back from the center-most piece. This regenerative cycle means that Raven's shadow weapons and limbs, while sometimes not as effective ( dependant upon light source, as per usual ), are constant, and thus, entirely effective for his purpose. Equipment Vice Red The Vice Red is Raven's personal "toy".. His "baby", even. While the villain never actually had a need for the motorcycle ( seeing as he could simply move around via the shadows ), he finds such entertainment in driving and maintaining the Vice Red that it became his primary mode of transportation, whenever time would allow. The maximum speed allowed by the motorcycle reaches as high as 250 MPH, and can reach that speed in about 10 seconds acceleration. The only weapon mount is a small turret revealed when the front cowl ( shaped like Raven's signature claw ) slides up, which can fire up to 100 shots, streamlined, before it has to be restocked. Otherwise, if Raven gets in trouble, he can attack with the 'cycle's own shadow, or just escape through a portal. The Shades Raven's 'shades have saved his life on several occasions.. And not just by looking cool. Generally, Raven needs to already be using his powers on shadows to be able to use them, and wouldn't be able to use shadows if light did not allow him to. However, by using a very small amount of his power on a constant, he keeps a portion of his own shadow wrapped around a pair of wide, diamond sunglasses ( making them appear to be simple, black shades ). This has two real purposes: One, is to always keep a shadow on his person for action, or defense, by moving the shadows from either behind the shades or on the shades themselves, which protect his face ( or, more specifically, his head ) from harm such as bullets. The second purpose is to allow Raven to see through the shadows. At any point, all Raven would have to do is open a small portal, or window, through the shadows that wrap around his sunglasses, and he would be able to see through any other shadow, in the room, or around a person who he's tracked through DNA. This allows the villain to spy, or see things around him, without looking suspicious. Category:Complete List of Villains